Suffer The Little Children

One of the things that makes me so damned mad about the so called pro-lifers is that for all their yammering about saving the lives of unborn children, you won’t hear a peep out of them when it comes to addressing known causes of infant and childhood death and health problems.

For instance, the impact of environmental toxins on children’s well-being:

“Higher incidences of congenital anomalies, including cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) and hypospadias, were found in boys whose mothers had higher serum levels of certain organochlorine compounds, researchers say. Two separate studies presented today during the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Orlando confirmed existing hypotheses that maternal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals – including total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, such as Arochlor) and organochlorinated pesticides (such as dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane, or DDT) may contribute to an increased incidence of these conditions.

Mothers with high levels of organochlorine compounds in their bodies are at a greater risk of bearing sons with undescended testicles (cryptorchidism). In a study (abstract #276) of 40 boys undergoing surgical treatment for the condition, researchers from New York and Michigan analyzed PCB serum levels from both the patient and the mother and compared the readings to residual PCB levels in the patients’ fatty tissue samples (taken at surgery). Patients ranged from eight to 18 months of age at the time of treatment.

Of the sons whose mothers had measurable PBB levels at the time of conception, 35 reported GU conditions, including hernias (13), hydroceles (10), undescended testicles (9), hypospadias (5), phimosis (2) and varicocele (1). Sons whose mothers had PBB levels greater than 5 parts per billion were more likely to report these conditions than those whose mothers had lower levels. Maternal PBB levels were not found to have an impact on birth weight or estimated gestational age. 12.2 percent of boys with maternal serum levels greater than 5 were more likely to report GU conditions, compared to 5.5 percent of boys with lower maternal PBB levels.”

And then there is this from Laura Tarkan:

“The preponderance of the evidence on the harmful effects of hormone-disrupting chemicals stems from studies and observations of the animal world. In the 1990s, studies began to consistently link hormone-disrupting pollutants with reduced fertility in fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. These associations are strong and well-documented.

Among humans, we are witnessing a number of disturbing trends in fertility. There has been a worldwide increase in the number of men with low sperm counts as well as a 1 percent reduction of testosterone in men per year for the past 40 to 50 years. In women, there have been declines in the age that breast development occurs and that girls experience their first period. There has also been a continuous rise in the rate of endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, the two most common conditions associated with infertility — both with strong evidence of links to environmental factors.

Skeptics say there isn’t definitive proof that these chemicals have much of an effect on the fertility of humans. The reality is, the sort of evidence they are waiting for would be a devastating tragedy, along the lines of the 2006 movie, Children of Men, a flash forward to the year 2027, when homo sapiens could no longer procreate.”

Last, there is this reminder of the deadly impact of war and conflict on children’s lives:

“The Israeli siege of Gaza that has restricted access to food, water and medicine is now beginning to hit unborn children and newborn babies.

“Many babies are born suffering from anaemia that they have inherited from their mothers,” Dr Salah al-Rantisi, head of the women’s health department at the Palestinian ministry of health in Gaza told IPS. And the mothers are becoming anaemic because they do not now get enough nutrition through pregnancy.

The ministry of health says 9,000 to 10,000 babies are born in the Gaza Strip every month. Of every 1,000 born, 28 die from malnutrition, anaemia and other poverty-related causes. The ministry has no figures for surviving babies suffering from malnutrition.
“There are many cases of pregnant women who need medicines that are not available in Gaza,” al-Rantisi said. Most families could not afford them if they were available, he said.
The World Bank said last month that the poverty rate in Gaza is now close to 67 percent and that economic growth last year was zero.”

The list of course is endless–poverty, hunger, lack of education–all of these things impact the ability of children to live and to thrive–if we truly cared about and valued the lives of children, these are the issues we would be addressing.